Hypodermic injection apparatus



United States Patent (T HYPDERMIC INJECTION APPARATUS George N. Hein, San Carlos, Calif.

Application June 3, 1954, Serial No. 434,155

15 Claims. (Cl. 128-215) This invention relates to a structurally and functionally improved hypodermic injection apparatus and especially an apparatus which may be employed for self 1njection.

It is an object of the invention to furnish a hypodermic injection assembly which may be used to efficiently inject medicament; needle penetration being effected with virtually no awareness on the part of the person being injected, the withdrawal of the needle being likewise accomplished in a painless manner.

A further object is that of furnishing al1 improved assembly, the parts of which may readily `be operated with minimum effort and which may, for example, include a standard type of hypodermic syringe and needle.

Still another object of this invention is that of designing a mechanism of simple and rugged construction capable of being produced at a nominal figure and in which the hypodermic syringe and needle associated therewith may readily be dismounted for purposes of cleaning, sterilizing and filling. Additionally, the present apparatus will function for long periods of time with freedom from all difficulties.

With these and other objects in mind, reference is had to the attached sheet of drawings illustrating a practical embodiment of the invention and in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a sectional side view thereof showing the parts in an initial condition preceding injection;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in the direction of the arrows as indicated in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 2 but illusrtating the mechanism after the completion of an injection.

In these several views, the numeral 5 indicates a cupshaped member which may be formed of metal and which is inverted so that its' edge may contact the skin or any other surface to be injected. The member is formed with a bore 6 extending from its base and which bore may be included in an angular offset body portion 7. The base of the cup, at a preferably central point, is formed with an opening 8. That opening has at least its upper edge defined by a seat in the form of a ring 9 preferably of rubber. i

That seat is to be engaged by the hub 10 of a hypodermic needle 1l. The latter is mounted upon the tip of a syringe barrel 12 conveniently formed of glass and within the bore of which a plunger 13 extends'. The plunger may terminate in the usual actuating portion 14 and the barrel has its rear or inner end preferably defined by the usual flange 15.

Now with a view to providing a structure for securing a hypodermic syringe assembly such as the foregoing in position, extension 7 mounts, by means of a threaded socket, a correspondingly threaded stem 16. That stem is integral with or secured to a tube 17. In turn connected to the latter and with its axis parallel thereto, is a cylindrical guide 18. This guide overlies the openno play will come into being between the parts. To this` end, a rod 19 is' slidably mounted in the bore of tube 17. At its upper end and beyond the adjacent end of guide 18 a retainer 20 is supported by the rod.. This retainer furnishes a groove such that the` adjacent ange 1S may be accommodated therein. HavingA in mind that the syringe will preferably be formed of glass, the side surfaces of the retainer or head 20 may be faced with cushioning material 21 which' is preferably rubber. A

unidirectional clutch or detent is provided by, for exampie, forming guide 18 with a groove 22 at a point adjacent the upper end of tube 17 and having the edge portion of a plate 23 rockably received within that groove or notch. "The plate is apertured and the diameter of that aperture is slightly in excess of the diameter of rod 19. A spring 24 acts against plate 23 to normally maintain the same in the position shown.

It is preferred to have rod 19 spring projected. To this end, a spring 25 of suitable capacity may be interposed between stem 16 and the anged upper end of an extension 26 secured to the lower end of rod 19. This spring should have sufficient power to bodily elevate rod 19 and the syringe assembly and to also overcome any frictional drag on needle 11. Therefore, as hereinafter brought out, this spring may effect a withdrawal of the needle from tissues which have been penetrated thereby. The power-retracting structure thus furnished may be dispensed with. However, according 'to a preferred concept of the invention, it should be employed.

An expansible, suction-producing member or cham,- ber is provided preferably by employing a bulb 27. The latter may be formed of relatively heavy rubber stock and has an opening through which a flared collar 28, defining the bore 6 of extension 7, projects. Thus, a leakproof seal is furnished at this point by means of this or an equivalent construction. As will be apparent, the bulb may be compressed to expel air from its interior. When released for expansion, that bulb will exert a considerable suction action and what might be termed its `operating stroke will occur within a very short interval of time.

In order to furnish `a triggering mechanism for the expansion chamber thus provided, a stem 29 has one end secured to a fitting 30 applied to bulb 27. The position of that fitting should be in axial alignment with bore 6. The stem is continued in the form of a latch or detent portion 31 and, according to a preferred concept of this invention, terminates in a skin-contacting extension 32.

The trigger conveniently includes `a plunger 33 which is slidably mounted by extension 7 and has its inner end extending into the bore 6. This plunger is mounted for movement within a tube 34 secured to extension 7 to lie at right angles to that bore. Plunger 33 terminates in a head 35. Adjacent the inner end of the plunger a supporting ange 36 is furnished. A spring 37 bears against this liange and encircles the plunger within the body of tube 34. The outer end of this: spring bears against plate 38 which has an opening of a diameter larger than plunger 33. Accordingly, it may be rocked around the outer end of tube 34. An O-ring 39 is preferably disposed within the cavity of extension 7 which accommodates the inner end of tube 34. This ring bears in sealing relationship against plunger 33.

In using the apparatus, a syringe assembly such as that herein shown and described is cleaned, sterilized and filled with, medicament to provide a desired dosage. The remaining parts of the apparatus may likewise be cleaned and sterilized and the surface of the skin adjacent the site of injection is likewise treated in a conventional manner.v That site should conveniently be moistened with a suitable liquid', unless of course the alcohol as customarily employed for surface sterilization provides an adequate liquid tilm.

Prior to moistening the skin, the syringe is disposed within the bore of holder 18. Under such positioning, flange 15 is introduced into the groove defined by the actuator or head 20. Thereupon this head, as well as the syringe assembly, is shifted to a point where further movement is arrested by, for example, hub 10 engaging seat 9 with suiiicient force to assure of sealing contact being established between these elements. As will be apparent with the shifting of head 20, spring 25 will have been compressed. That spring will not be free to expand carrying with it plunger 19 because of the clutch furnished by plate 23 or its equivalent.

The operator will collapse bulb 27 in the manner shown in Fig. 2. This will expel substantially all air from that bulb. In moving the parts in this manner, latch or detent 31 will override the inner end of plunger or bolt 33. Accordingly, the latter will lie to the rear of the ared surface defined by the detent or latch. So disposed, it willprevent the bulb from expanding. Also extension 32 as shown in this figure (and if such an extension is employed) will project into a plane below that into which the pointed end of the needle 11 extends. The bore 6 being disposed at an angle to bore or passage 8,

extension 32will project to a point adjacent a line which is a prolongation of the needle axis.

Now considering that the patient is ready to be injected and that, as afore brought out, the surface adjacent the4 site of injection has been moistened, the lip of cup or body will be firmly pressed into engagement with that surface. Preferably, the site chosen should be characterized by a skin area throughout which the tension on the skin is substantially equal. Under these circumstances, sealing engagement is effected between the skin and the lip of' the cup. Now by exerting pressure on plate 38, the latter will fulcrum around one of the edges of tube 34. This will cause a retraction on the part of bolt or plunger 33. Therefore, the inner end of the latter will clear the latch or detent 31.

It is to be understood that if extension 32 is employed, it will have been engaging the surface of the skin as shown in Fig. 2 to prevent that surface from being engaged with the point of needle 11. irritating to the patient will have occurred. With the release of the detent, extension 32 will have moved out of depressing engagement with the surface of the skin. Simultaneously, bulb 27 or its equivalent will have rapidly expanded.

Therefore, a considerable suction is created within the space defined by cup 5; the capacity of which should be less than that of the bulb or other expansible suctionproducing unit. Consequently, an area of skin and underlying tissue will have been drawn up into the cup as in Fig. 4. With such movement, the point of the needle will penetrate the epidermis and lodge within the underlying tissue. Accordingly, the user may now project plunger 14 and express the dosage of medicamentthrough the lumen of the needle into the selected site. It will be understood as a consequence of this action that a patient need have no apprehension as to engaging a bone underlying the skin. Likewise, he need have no apprehension in selecting as a site for injection, the diaphragm or waistline zone of his person. This will be because in any instance, needle projection is not occurring. Rather, merely suction on the surface or skin results which draws the latter in the form of a bulge or extension into the cup 5. Therefore, it is apparent that there will be no Therefore, no painful contactv dangerV ofintestine perforation occurring even in the case of a thin person and the injection being resorted to at a point overlying the abdominal cavity.

With the injection completed and if the preferred structure as illustrated is employed, the needle may be instantaneously and painlessly withdrawn without conscious effort on the part of the user. To this end, clutch 23 may be actuated to swing it downwardly against the force of spring 24. By so doing, the aperture of the plate is brought to a position in which its edge is spaced from the surface of plunger 19. Accordingly the latter, under the action of spring 25, will project. Due to the connection between head Z1- and the syringe barrel, this will result in an instantaneous retraction of the latter carrying with it the needle 11. In such movement, the seal existing, for example, between hub 10 (acting as a valve) and the gasket 9 (acting as a seat), will be broken. This will admit air through bore 8. Due to the natural resiliency and tendency of the epidermis to return to its normal position, the suction having been relieved, this will result in the skin snapping back to a substantially flattened position and thus the needle will completely clear the skin. The apparatus may now be removed and the entire operation repeated.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention as specifically aforenoted are achieved. Obviously numerous changes in construction and rearrangements of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

I claim:

l. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body to be applied to the surface of the site selected for injection, means potentialized to produce a partial vacuum within said body when applied to such a surface, a trigger assembly connected to said body and vacuum means to prevent an operation of the latter and releasable to permit such operation and a mounting connected to said body for operatively supporting a hypodermic syringe and needle adjacent thereto.

2. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body to be applied to the surface of the site selected for injection, means potentialized to produce a partial vacuum within said body when applied to such a surface, a mounting connected to said body for operatively supporting a hypodermic syringe and needle adjacent thereto and means whereby said mounting is retractable.

3. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body to be applied to the surface of the site selected for injection, means potentialized to produce a partial vacuum within said body when applied to such a surface, a mounting connected to said body for operatively supporting a hypodermic syringe and needle adjacent thereto, means urging said mounting to a retracted position and means releasably retaining said last-named means against movement.

4. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body to be applied to the surface of the site selected for injection, means potentialized to produce a partial vacuum Within said body when applied to such a surface, a mounting connected to said body for operatively supporting a hypodermic syringe and needle adjacent thereto and in a position at which said needle extends within said body and means initially preventing an engagement between the surface to be penetrated and the needle.

5. An apparatus for use -in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body to be applied to the surface of the site selected for injection, means potentialized to` produce a partial vacuum within said body when applied to such a surface, a mounting connected to said7 body for operatively supporting a hypodermic syringe and needle adjacent thereto and in a position at which said needle extends within said body, means initially preventing an engagement between the surface to be penetrated and the needle and means for moving said last-named means to an inoperative position.

6. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body to be applied to the surface of the site selected for injection, means potentialized to produce a partial vacuum within said body when applied to such a surface, a mounting connected to said body for operatively supporting a hypodermic syringe and needle adjacent thereto and in a position at which said needle extends within said body, means initially preventing an engagement between the surface to be penetrated and the needle,l said last-named means being operatively connected with said vacuum-producing means and means whereby said engagement preventing means is shifted to inoperative position upon said vacuum-producing means being operated.

7. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body to be applied to the surface of the site selected for injection, an expansible suction chamber to produce a partial vacuum within the body when it is applied to such surface, a trigger assembly including parts connected to said body and said expansible chamber and cooperating to prevent an operation of the latter and a mounting connected to said body to support a syringe barrel and needle in a position at which the latter extends into said body.

8. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body to be applied to the surface of the site selected `for injection, means potentialized to produce a partial vacuum within said body when applied to such a surface, a mounting connected to said body for operatively supporting a hypodermic syringe and needle adjacent thereto and means associated with said mounting for relieving conditions of vacuum within said body.

9. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body to be applied to the surface of the site selected for injection, means potentialized to produce a partial vacuum within said body when applied to such a surface, a mounting connected to said body for operatively supporting a hypodermic syringe and needle adjacent thereto, means whereby said mounting is retractable and means operating simultaneously with such retraction to relieve conditions of vacuum within said body.

10. A11 apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body the edge of which is to be applied to the surface of a site selected for injection, said body being formed with a bore, an expansible resilient bulb mounted by said body and connected to said bore to produce a condition of vacuum within the interior of said body as said bulb expands, a mounting carried by said body for a syringe and needle, a stem movable with said bulb, a latch carried by said stem and a trigger movably carried by said body and engageable with said latch to maintain said bulb in a substantially collapsed condition.

ll. An apparatus for use in co-nnection with hypodermic injections comprising in combination a cup-shaped body the edge of which is to be applied to the surface of a site selected for injection, said body being formed with a bore, an expansible resilient bulb mounted by said body and connected to said bore to produce a condition of vacuum within the interior of said body as said bulb expands, a mounting carried by said body for a syringe and needle, a stem movable with said bulb, and an extension carried by said stem to engage the surface to be penetrated by said needle and maintain such surface out of engagement with the latter.

l2. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections, said apparatus comprising a body, means for mounting a syringe barrel and needle adjacent thereto so that the latter extends into said body, means for producing a vacuum within said body to draw the skin of the patient upwardly into the same and thus penetrate the skin by the needle and a trigger for releasing said last-named means for operation.

i3. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections, said apparatus comprising a body, means for mounting a syringe barrel and needle adjacent thereto so that the latter extends into said body, means for producing a vacuum within said body to draw the skin of the patient upwardly into the same and thus penetrate the skin by the needle and means carried by said body for initially preventing an engagement between such a needle and the skin of the patient.

14. An apparatus for use in connection with hypodermic injections, said apparatus comprising a body, means for mounting a syringe barrel and needle adjacent thereto so that the latter extends into said body, means for producing a vacuum within said body to draw the skin of the patient upwardly into the same and thus penetrate the skin by the needle, said mounting means being movable with respect to said body and power means for retracting said mounting means with respect to said body.

15. An apparatus for userin connection with hypodermic injections, said apparatus comprising a body, means for mounting a syringe barrel and needlle adjacent thereto so that the latter extends into said body, means for producing a vacuum within said body to draw the skin of the patient upwardly into the same and thus penetrate the skin by the needle and venting means associated with said body to relieve conditions of vacuum therein.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,934,046 Demarchi Nov. 7, 1933 

